May 21, 2013

Tornado hits home for Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey had only one friend affected by the EF-5 tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., on Monday, but it hit close to home. The Cowboys kicker grew up in Mustang, 18 miles from Moore.

"It breaks your heart, because there’s just nothing you can do," Bailey said Tuesday. "All the people who are there, all they can do is sit there and watch. It’s out of everybody’s hands. Unluckily and unfortunately, they’ve been through it before, so they know kind of how to deal with it. They’re going to do the best they can, and I’m going to see what I can do to help them out."

Bailey remembers being in his parents' storm shelter a handful of times in his life.

"It’s a scary feeling," Bailey said. "It’s something, growing up there, you kind of get used to. It’s kind of expected you’re going to have tornadoes. You’re never ready for something like that to happen."

The Rams and the Chiefs lent a hand to Joplin, Mo., tornado relief in 2011. Bailey would like to spearhead an effort by the Cowboys to help Moore, and Dez Bryant, who attended Oklahoma State with Bailey, intends to help.

“I wish the best; I hope for the best,” Bryant said. “I’ll keep that in my prayers. I really hope they get through it. Anything I can do or any fellow Oklahoma player in here can help, I’m pretty sure we’ll do it.”